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emmanuel
02/09/2009, 07:03 AM
I set up an 8 inch cube pico with zoos next to my bed .I used an aquaclear 50 but it makes a little bit of rattling noise it did suck up some sand but that was cleaned out .Could the impeller be damaged from that?
Any thing else I can do to quiet it down?

Guygettnby
02/09/2009, 07:34 AM
it probably still has some sand in it or you didnt put it back together properly. meaning maybe something is loose.

emmanuel
02/09/2009, 08:08 AM
I cleaned it twice no sand but I did notice the impeller was not centered so I pushed it to center it it helped a little but still makes a slight rattle .It's not like a regulart power head impeller that the shaft is held on both sides I never had one of these so really don't know if it is normal to make this noise Should it be completely silent?
Remember this is in my bedroom when I had it next to my 125 reef it seemed silent cause the noise was drowned out by my 125

vid660
02/09/2009, 10:28 AM
The aquaclear filters are very quiet, almost totally silent. If it's making noise, something is wrong. Sand easily damages the impeller shafts, so I would guess that's what the problem is. I went through many of them when I had FW tanks. I purchased several replacement shafts so I had spares when sand damaged them. I had African Cichlids and they loved to dig in the sand. I had one that kept sucking up sand in his mouth then spit it into the intake on the filter. I went through quite a few impeller shafts. :lol:

emmanuel
02/09/2009, 12:47 PM
So is it the impeller I would need or the metal shaft?
I went and purchased a new filter I guess I can swap parts to see what part is needed
Thanks

vid660
02/09/2009, 12:50 PM
Compare the impeller shaft on the new filter to the old one. I bet the old one has flaws on the shaft. I never had to replace the impellers on any of my aqua clear filters, just the impeller shafts. I had MANY of them over 20 years of doing FW.

emmanuel
02/09/2009, 05:12 PM
the brand new one makes the same amount of noise if not more than the old one I hope petland discounts lets me return it
any other brands that would be quiter?
thanks for your input

vid660
02/09/2009, 05:42 PM
That's odd. I still have a few laying around that I use for my hospital/QT and they are silent. Maybe they don't make them like they used to.

The only other HOB filters I liked were the Emperors. However, they might be a little large for your application.

emmanuel
02/09/2009, 06:13 PM
did you have it set up by another tank that drowned out the noise?

vid660
02/09/2009, 07:01 PM
No. On my smaller FW tanks I had a combination of AC30, AC50, and AC70. All three tanks were within 6-10 feet or so from my desk (in my den). They were all totally silent. The only noise I could hear was the occasional gurgle from where the water was exiting the filter and entering the tank water. This was usually a sign that I needed to add water to replace evaporation.

emmanuel
02/10/2009, 06:23 AM
I swapped everything once more used different combinations of old and new parts and still makes the same noise

vid660
02/10/2009, 08:43 AM
It sounds like something isn't right. It might be worth a call to Hagen's Tech Support.

emmanuel
02/10/2009, 12:16 PM
I just returned the new one petland didn't have another one in stock but they will tomorrow.
I have a fluval 304 canister I can hook up to the 2gal cube but I'm afraid it will cause heat issues on the positive side it will double the water volume of the tank

vid660
02/10/2009, 12:21 PM
I used two XP3s on my 29g for many months. No heat issues at all. I've owned a fluval 304 in the past and never noticed any heat increase from that one either. I'd definitely go that route over a hob filter. Increased water volume is a huge plus. I put rock rubble and a polishing filter pad in mine. (changed it weekly). Ended up having quite the pod population in the rubble.

emmanuel
02/10/2009, 05:42 PM
tried the 304 it does double the water volume but it also makes some noise a little less than the aquaclear it just sucks cause it will be a pain to maintain (in bedroom) its a lot easier to maintain the aquaclear
I placed some foam earplugs were the filter contacts the tank it got rid of a tiny bit of noise
I wonder if that spray on sound proofing they use for cars would help if I painted the Aquaclear with it

vid660
02/10/2009, 05:44 PM
Out of curiosity, do you have the lid on the aquaclear? I know I got vibration from them so I always left them off.

emmanuel
02/10/2009, 09:01 PM
me too I left it off

emmanuel
02/11/2009, 02:16 PM
Got some undercoating/soundproofing paint I'm going to test a spot to see when it dries if it smells bad and if it doesn't I'm painting the aquaclear with it